After the fall of the Berlin Wall, there was a widespread sense that liberal capitalism had triumphed in the battle of ideas, and that socialism as a plausible alternative was pretty much dead. But the many crises of contemporary capitalism – obscene levels of economic inequality, looming ecological disaster, the rise of the racist and anti democratic populist right, the new threats of surveillance capitalism and the surveillance state – threaten dystopia, an unbearable future. In response, the idea of socialism has been re-discovered by a layer of activists struggling for radical change, especially young people. But what is socialism? If we are against capitalism, what are we for? Is the socialism we have in mind a more robust version of social democracy,
Topics:
Andrew Jackson considers the following as important: social democracy, socialism, Uncategorized
This could be interesting, too:
John Quiggin writes Dispensing with the US-centric financial system
John Quiggin writes How to dispense with Trump’s US
John Quiggin writes Trump has thrown out the global economic playbook. It’s time for Australia to write its own rules
tom writes Germany’s election & why it is important to understand the Ukraine War
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, there was a widespread sense that liberal capitalism had triumphed in the battle of ideas, and that socialism as a plausible alternative was pretty much dead. But the many crises of contemporary capitalism – obscene levels of economic inequality, looming ecological disaster, the rise of the racist and anti democratic populist right, the new threats of surveillance capitalism and the surveillance state – threaten dystopia, an unbearable future. In response, the idea of socialism has been re-discovered by a layer of activists struggling for radical change, especially young people.
But what is socialism? If we are against capitalism, what are we for? Is the socialism we have in mind a more robust version of social democracy, despite its past accommodations to a capitalist economy, or a renewal of past visions of a post capitalist economy and society, of utopia? These questions are being debated in recent books and left journals which will help shape contemporary progressive politics.
Read More https://socialistproject.ca/2019/06/between-dystopia-and-democratic-socialism/